In late 2011, the celebrated artist- and neighborhood-centered organization Outpost for Contemporary Art was at a critical juncture. Rather than see the organization close, the Armory invited Outpost into the Armory fold with the aim of maintaining Outpost’s programmatic vitality while augmenting the Armory’s spirit and capacity to invent. Through focused planning and collaboration, a vision is emerging for melding Outpost’s international and community-based programs with Armory’s respected gallery and arts education programs.Monster Drawing RallyMonster Drawing Rally is an annual tradition established in Los Angeles by Outpost for Contemporary Art, now [email protected] The event concept was developed in 2001 by Southern Exposure, a San Francisco-based, artist-centered, not-for-profit, and has continued to thrive there [email protected] pleased to bring the concept to Los Angeles' vibrant art scene. Available works can be seen and purchased HERE.

The Project X DeskThe Armory and Project X Foundation have partnered to present the Project X Desk, an ongoing writer-in-residence program. The Desk, located in the [email protected] Archive and Library inside the Armory’s Pasadena Art Alliance Gallery, offers a quiet nook for writing and contemplation. The purpose of this residency is to give Los Angeles-based and visiting writers a dedicated working space for a particular project or avenue of research, and to provide a forum for sharing that work with the public. During the residency, writers are asked to propose a specific abstract or subject of inquiry. There is no requirement to complete or publish work undertaken at the Desk, though it is encouraged. In addition to the desk space, writers-in-residence are asked to host a reading, screening, or other kind of public presentation that will be promoted as part of the Armory and Project X’s programming schedules during the residency.

Past Projects

Project X Desk Writer in Residence:Christiane KuesFebruary 1 through March 30, 2015Christine Kues traces artist writings genealogically; and contextualizes perspectives of knowledge production to what has been described as the state of semio-capitalism or cognitive capitalism. The debate about knowledge production in the arts is currently summarized and reduced to its institutionalization, academicization, or the surplus of higher education and new knowledge.

Mónica Mayer and Victor Lerma:Pinto mi Raya in Residency May 9 through September 9, 2015While at the Armory, Mayer and Lerma will host a series of conversations and workshops with Los Angeles-based artists, sharing their experiences over the past 25 years with the Pinto mi Rayaproject and focusing on artist-run spaces and the artists’ work in the archive.

Project X Desk Writer in Residence:Johanna HedvaSeptember 15 through Octtober 31, 2014Johanna Hedva began working on a novel, entitled Non, to speak to the desires and motivations seen at work with Chelsea Manning, Snowden, and the hacktivists who were being persecuted and imprisoned for political activism. The first-person narrative is in the voice of “On_Hell,” an Icarus-like hacktivist, living in Los Angeles, who has just been released from prison, having been convicted of hacking into government databases.

Panel Discussion:What does art practice have to do with political activism?Moderated by Johanna Hedva, the artists discussed the practical considerations of art-making in relation to political engagement. Organized in parallel to the theoretical panel “How to Cite a Leaked Document: Civil Disobedience in the Digital Age,” hosted by the Aesthetics and Politics lecture series at CalArts in early October, this panel is the culmination of Johanna Hedva’s residency at the Project X Desk at the Armory. Watch the discussion on Vimeo.

MIA (Moving Image Art) Residency[email protected] hosted MIA (Moving Image Art) in residence from February 15 to June 15, 2014. The residency consisted of MIA programming four sequential, month-long, video based, solo exhibitions, screened daily in the Armory’s Pasadena Art Alliance Gallery, by international artists who work in moving image.

The Full Dollar Collection of Contemporary Art on York Blvd. by X. Andrade[email protected] presented The Full Dollar Collection of Contemporary Art, a neighborhood-based public art project conceived and launched by X. Andrade, an artist and anthropologist based in Ecuador. Andrade reconsidered the traditions of public art, signage, and murals by inviting collaboration between teams of artists, sign painters, and business owners.